


Make My Messes Matter

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: Don't Let's Start Adjacent [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Kuron (Voltron) has PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Nightmares, Skywalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 15:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13238295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: After a nightmare about the Galra ship, Ryou tries to sneak out of the castle to deal.  On the way out, he's spotted by Keith





	Make My Messes Matter

**Author's Note:**

> It was about time they really talked.
> 
> Technically this is DLS adjacent, as it's not part of the 'official' continuity. I just wanted to try and get at a particular mood.

Ryou stepped through the hall, footsteps light and silent as he walked.  The castle was dimly lit, barely enough glow to see by.  It cast strange shadows along the walls, the curves and shapes of the architecture making silhouettes where Ryou didn't expect.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou pulled on his helmet.  Despite the hour and that everyone else was still in bed, he was completely dressed in his armor.  It meant he had to be more careful as he walked through the castle to stay silent, but he was practiced in this.  Both from Shiro and from himself.

A press of his hand to a console opened the hangar doors.  Ryou stepped in and offered Yellow a smile.  Immediately, the golden eyes lit and the huge head turned toward him, curious and expectant. 

Just seeing the reaction still made Ryou's heart skip.  He'd spent so long thinking he was wrong, either in nature or action.  He'd spent so much time hopelessly staring up at Black and wondering why.  It had all been useless, and Ryou had never even considered a different lion.  Now it felt obvious.  Even if he had the energy to pilot Black, why had he assumed that would be his lion?  Ryou wasn't Shiro.  He wasn't the leader of the paladins, never had been.  That wasn't so painful anymore, and came with a quiet relief.  

"Hey, big guy," Ryou murmured.  He stepped forward and smiled as Yellow crouched to greet him.  "Ready for a little trip?  I just need to grab a couple of things, then we can go."

"Go where?"

Ryou whirled around, eyes wide and heart pounding in his throat.  Automatically, he reached down to his hip and pulled out the yellow bayard, holding it up without activating it.

Keith stared back, head tilted.  He was wearing his Blade of Marmora uniform with the hood still up.  When he walked forward, his steps were effortlessly silent, or at least seemed to be.

Of course they were.  Show-off.

"Keith."  Ryou scrubbed over his face and dropped his weapon.  "You startled me."

Keith nodded, as his eyes dragged over Ryou, taking in his armor.  "You're getting better at going for your bayard."

"I would hope so, with all the drills I've been running."  Once the bayard was back in the armor, Ryou straightened and took a deep breath.  "Anyway, did you need something?"

Brows up, Keith met his eyes.  "You can answer my question."

There had been a question?  Ryou thought back, then paused.  Right.  Keith had asked where he planned on going.  "Just outside the castle," Ryou replied.  "I won't be outside of visual range, and it'll be less than an hour.  You should head to bed.  You just got back?  You're probably exhausted."

"I slept before coming back," Keith replied.  He stepped forward, and as he came closer, Ryou could see the furrow in his brow.  "I did the time conversion in my head, and I wasn't as precise about it as I should have been, so I'm here a few hours early.  Why are you going out?"

Ryou set his jaw and shrugged.  "Joyride," he said, managing a kind of pointed cheeriness.  "No big deal, just couldn't sleep, and I figured me and Yellow could use some bonding time outside of training.  We've got the most making up to do, right, Big Guy?"

There was an answering rumble in the back of his neck, like someone had pressed a covered hair clipper to the back of Ryou's neck.  There was agreement, that Yellow was willing to fly, but also a heavier nudge.  They didn't need to push the bond harder.  It would form on its own, from the act of being together and being part of the team.  It would be, simple and firm.

Apparently Yellow had never heard of making up an excuse before.

The buzzing happened again, deeper this time.  There was a weight, a sense of scale, a heaviness.

There was nothing Ryou had experienced or seen that the lions had not.  They were ancient and large.

_ Yeah, yeah, fine _ .  But that didn't make Yellow less literal.

A huff, one that should have made Ryou's hair ruffle from the force.  Then the presence retreated.

Keith continued  stepping closer  in those brief seconds the entire exchange had happened.  He stopped and pulled his hood back, looking Ryou over.  "Did something happen?  Were you fighting with Shiro?"

"I-"  Ryou's brow furrowed and he glanced back at Yellow, as if the lion was responsible for the strange question.  "No?  I mean, not that I was aware of.  Why, did he message you about something?"  That would be unlike Shiro, to call Keith up during a Marmora training session to complain about anything, much less a tiff with Ryou.  But why else would Keith ask?

Frowning, Keith crossed his arms.  "Lance, then?  Or Hunk."

Seriously, the hell?  "No!  Why do you think I'm fighting with everyone?"  Ryou's hands clenched tightly at his side, chest burning with frustration.  He and Keith weren't close like Shiro was, but he'd thought they were past assuming the worst in him.

"You-"  Keith let out a low breath and shook his head.  The tucked hair behind his ear came loose and fell in his face.  And, jeez, his hair was getting long.  They were going to have to get him a ponytail holder or something soon, if he didn't cut it.  "I'm not accusing you of anything.  It's just weird that you've decided to fly off into space for no reason in the middle of the night, all alone, while everyone else is still asleep.  Do I have to point out how reckless that is?"

Ryou made a face.  That was a good point, and one that he'd been studiously ignoring.  With a sigh, he pulled off his helmet and ran his gloved hand through his bangs, unsticking them.  "Yeah.  Alright.  It was kind of an impulse.  But, hey, you know now.  You can tell me if I need to come back in, or warn everyone before they wormhole off without me."  

Ice formed in Ryou's stomach, creeping out through his vines.  He'd be out there alone, floating through space, left behind, crying out for them as the red light filled his helmet, a constant reminder of how low his fuel was-

A nudge to the back of his neck pushed him out of his spiraling thoughts.

Ryou closed his eyes and leaned into the sensation.   _ Thank you. _

Fondness.

"Hey," Keith murmured, his lips pressed thin.  "I know- everything.  With us.  It's not the same.  But I know Shiro well, so I can still read you.  Is there something I can do to help?"

Ryou's jaw set as he met Keith's gaze.  "I'm not Shiro," he reminded, voice tensed.

"No, you're not.  But there's a resemblance.  At least let me call up Lance or something, if you don't want to talk to me."

Groaning, Ryou shook his head.  "Please, don't.  Let him sleep.  They've all more than earned a good night's rest."  He reached up and scrubbed under one eye, stalling for time.  "It was just a dream.  Of that ship you guys pulled me out of.  I wanted to clear my head, and this seemed like a good way.  I was going to go on a skywalk."

Keith's eyes were wide as he looked over Ryou's face.  "Oh.  I didn't know you dream about that."

All he got was a thin smile.  "I have lots of dreams."

Finally, Keith gave a sharp nod.  "You shouldn't go out alone, though.  Even if someone on the ship knows where you are, what if something goes wrong?"

"That's what Yellow's here for."  Ryou threw a smile over his shoulder.  "Won't even have to go as far as Red did for you.  I'll be right there to chomp up."

Keith nodded slowly, but his eyes were still bright.  "I'll come with you," he offered.

"You-"  Ryou stared back, his brow furrowed.  "I'll be fine.  It's only going to be a little while.  You just got back from a mission, you don't need to be babysitting me."

Keith shrugged and took a step back.  "It's not babysitting, not really.  I'd like to go.  It's better than staring at the dark ceiling for a few hours and waiting for breakfast.  If you really want to be alone, I get it, but-"

But you shouldn't be alone.  It was left unsaid.

"I'm not Shiro," Ryou reminded him again, voice hardening.

"That doesn't-"  Keith set his jaw and looked away.  "I didn't mean to make you think I was accusing you, before.  Can you not to do the same to me?  I know you're not Shiro.  I'm not mixing you up.  But you're still part of the team, and you look like you could use some company.  Some human company."

Ryou's lips quirked up, almost despite himself.  "Well, halfway there."

Rolling his eyes, Keith shook his head.  "I take it back, don't wake up Lance.  You spend too much time around him and Hunk these days.  It's rubbing off on your sense of humor."

"They're funny," Ryou replied, outright smiling now.  It fell apart quickly, but it had been there.

Did he want Keith to come along?

Honestly, Ryou didn't want anyone.  It hadn't been a conscious decision, but he hadn't woken anyone to go with him.  Shiro would want to talk about it, and would poke and prod Ryou's dreams if only because Ryou did the same for him.  That was good sometimes.  They both needed the reminder to vent rather than let themselves stew.  But it was also  _ exhausting.   _ Hunk was right out, because a sky walk was so far out of his comfort zone it was in another galaxy.  Lance would be game, but he was a fixer at heart.  He'd want to talk and share feelings and make Ryou smile and laugh.  He just didn't have the energy to respond to that right now.

But Keith was here, and he was offering.  Of everyone, he was the least likely to ask questions and prod.  He was the best at just  _ being. _

No, they weren't close.  Honestly, Ryou was a little glad they'd never been in Voltron together.  He wasn't sure how they'd work, and part of him was afraid their relationship was so awkward that it would disrupt the bond.  Unlikely, but the possibility was terrifying.

Keith was right, though.  Ryou shouldn’t go out into space alone.  That would be a very stupid way to die, if something went wrong.

"If you want to come, fine," he replied.  "Do you need to go change, or-"

Keith activated the helmet of his Marmora outfit, covering his face.  The eyes glowed, managing to look sarcastic.

"That'll do," Ryou admitted.  "One second, I just need a couple of things."  He moved to the storage area against the back wall and pulled out a couple of supplies, then nodded to Yellow.  "Okay, now we can go."

Keith glanced at the bundle in Ryou's arms.  "Why do you need rope?"

"Just in case."

If Keith was confused by the answer, he at least didn't ask.  Instead he stepped into the lion, steps still silent as a whisper.  He made no comment as Ryou settled into the chair and the hangar doors opened, and soon they were gliding gently through open space.

Once they were a little ways off, Ryou turned Yellow and matched their pace to the castle as precisely as he could.  Soon, it was like they and the castle were hanging motionlessly through the air - nothing was close enough to see their motion, so it was just the backdrop of stars and distant planet, and the castle ahead of them.

"There," Ryou murmured.  He patted Yellow's seat fondly, then stood.  "We should have up to an hour, if we need it.  You have jets in that thing?"

Keith nodded and rolled his shoulders.  "I'm good."

Perfect.  Ryou nodded back, then headed back to the jaw entrance.  With a thought, Yellow opened up to let them out.  

Open space gaped in front of them, inky and dark and never ending.

Ryou's breath caught in his chest.

When he hesitated, Keith looked over.  It was impossible to see his exact expression, but that tilt to his head usually meant he was assessing something.  Or someone.  "You good?"

"Of course."  With that, Ryou jumped off and gave a burst with his jet pack.  He gave it just a second of boost, getting distanced between himself and the lion, then let himself hang.

Perfect free fall.  He spread his arms and let his legs hang limply.  He continued to drift away from Yellow, but slowly, only a foot or two a second.  It would take him a long time to get a significant distance at this rate.

The universe hung before him.  Silent.  Endless.  Dark.

Ryou glanced back, making sure Keith was settled.  He was closer to Yellow than Ryou, like he'd just kicked off rather than jetted.  His legs were tucked up in front of him, like he was curled up on the couch with a book, and he spun slightly in place.  Likely, he'd pushed off with one foot, making the force biased to one side.  And knowing Keith - which, despite everything, Ryou did - it had been on purpose.  He seemed immune to dizziness.

Pushing the implanted memories away, Ryou focused forward, on where the small shape of the castle hung in the velvety blackness.  It was barely the size of his hand, and seemed to glow faintly in the light of a distant sun.

Just out of his reach.

Ryou strained his fingers for it, as though he could pluck it out of the sky and hold it in his hand like a toy.  He remembered the thrill of seeing Voltron in the battle, the surge of adrenaline as he raced after, the dawning horror as he realized he didn't have the speed to catch them.  That he had no way of contacting them.  That he was trailing behind, falling behind, left in nothingness with no food or water.

This time, he wasn't trapped in that tiny ship.  There was no red light in his eyes, and he was in Voltron armor, not the rebel suit.

This time, Ryou was held by nothing but the embrace of the void.

This time, Ryou could call out, could speak, could reach his hand out and find someone else grasping it.  But instead he floated in place and let himself look.

All around him was the inky black that had nearly taken his life.  Ryou had been minutes from death, from his body finally giving in to the lack of water.  That had been why Black was able to find him in the first place.

It wasn't the first time Ryou had felt that gnawing need.  The Galra had certainly starved him before, which was a memory he'd gladly save Shiro from remembering.  It did no one any good to understand that pain.

The remembered pain clawed through Ryou as he stared out at the glimmering stars all around him.

His hand stayed outstretched, fingers straining, heart aching.

"Voltron," he murmured, barely even breath.  Mostly, his lips formed the word, with the same desperation he had felt in that moment.

Something impacted his shoulder.

Ryou barely flinched, lost so deeply in the memory.  He turned and saw a Blade of Marmora mask just inches from his own.

His first thought was  _ Ulaz _ before he remembered who it belonged to.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked, voice tinny over the comms.  "You weren't responsive when I said your name."

Oh.  Ryou hadn't even heard Keith speak to him.

"Yeah," he replied, but it was distant, numb.  Distantly, he realized his jaw was chattering, like he was cold.  His eyes went back to the castle.  "Just remembering."

Keith didn't respond.  His fingers stayed wrapped around Ryou's shoulder, keeping them together as they floated.

Then he twisted and pulled Ryou in close, arms wrapped under Ryou's like he was dragging him up.

As raw as the memories were, it only took a second to realize why the pose was familiar.  It was how Keith had held him when they'd dragged him out of the ship.

Shivering, Ryou stayed limp, just like he had then.  He still felt like he didn't have the strength to return the embrace.  

"I'm not Shiro," he reminded quietly.  It felt like the only thing he could say to Keith.  Their past was too tangled, too deep, and one-sided.  Everything between them was just a reminder of who Ryou wasn't.

Keith was the last person who made Ryou regret being the clone.

"I know," Keith murmured, gentler than each time before.  "But I'm still glad we found you."

Breath catching, Ryou finally returned the embrace.  His legs curled back automatically as he pressed his helmet into Keith's chest, like a clinging child.  "I am too."

Keith's grip on him tightened, more like a hug now.  "It was worth it.  All the confusion and weirdness that came after.  It's been worth it."

"Even delaying getting Shiro back?"  Ryou picked up his head to look at Keith, glad for the glass between them.  He wouldn't be able to see how his eyes stung.

"Well," Keith murmured, each word slow like he was picking them individually.  "Shiro was okay, and he got back to us, in part because of you.  And I'd definitely rather have you on our side instead of against us."

Analytical.  Strategic.  Except when it came to Shiro.  The answer was so fundamentally Keith that Ryou's lips quirked up.  "Keep your enemies closer, huh?"

From the way Keith looked down, he was probably glaring.  "You're not my enemy.   You're my friend."

"Am I?"

"I thought so."  Keith's grip on Ryou tightened.  "Are we not?"

Ryou took a deep breath.  "I want to be," he admitted.  "But so much of how I see you is from Shiro.  For everyone else, I could work from new angles.  New dynamics.  I'm friends with Lance in a different way than Shiro is.  But with you it's harder.  I can't- I can't ignore those memories.  I know you, I remember the Garrison, I remember doing  _ this _ but from the roof of that rickety shack."  Ryou gestured toward the stars, the messy, glimmering, chaotic streaks of them, still so far away even billions of light years from home.

"Why do you have to?"  Keith tilted his head.  "Forget, I mean.  Ignore them."

A choked, quiet noise of frustration escaped Ryou.  "Not being Shiro means I don't get to take what's his.  His room, his stuff, his position on the team, his friendships - those aren’t mine to use.  I agreed to that.  It was a condition to staying  _ you _ made.  So if I want a dynamic with someone, a friendship, I'm not allowed to just jump in and act off the one I remember.  I have to build a new one.  But I don't  _ want _ a new one with you, Keith."

The grip loosened.  "Oh," Keith murmured, raw and wounded.  "I guess you wouldn't, after the stuff I said to you."

"What?"  Ryou grabbed onto Keith's shoulders and either pulled him down or yanked himself up.  It was impossible to tell the difference, and they ended the same way.  "Not that I don't want to be friends.  Don't be dense.  I mean- when you pulled me out of that ship?  You were my best friend.  You were the closest person to me in the universe.  That's how Shiro feels, that's the relationship you two have.  But where else is there to go but down, from there?  I don't know how to hold back and accept the paler version.   I don't know that I want to."

There was a long pause.  Then Keith sighed and pressed his helmeted forehead to Ryou's.  "Oh.  I didn't- That makes sense.  Alright, that explains why you keep reminding me you're not Shiro whenever we talk for longer than five minutes."

Ryou nodded, eyes falling closed.  His hands gripped Keith's biceps, and their legs kept tangling together.  "Yeah.  I don't want to make anyone think I'm overstepping."

"What if I don't give a shit?"

The curse was probably just to catch Ryou's attention, but it worked.  He started, eyes snapping back open.  "About what?"

Keith let go enough to flap a hand between them, then around.  "Boundaries.  What's my friendship with Shiro and what isn't.  What's allowed.  I've never liked rules that much, and here I was thinking you'd gotten away from them.  You're allowed to like stuff Shiro does.  You two both decided that, he said.  So, screw that.  If we're friends, it's just up to me and you.  If you remember stuff about me- well, fine.  It means I don't have to explain it over again."

"But you said-"

"I was wrong," Keith repeated, low and sure.  "I was mad, and I was hurt, and I was confused.  So I put you in a box where I didn't have to think of you as a person.  I tied you up in rules because it was a way to hurt you for not being someone else.  The agreements you've made with Shiro and with Allura still stand, but I take it all back.  Okay?  So cut it out and just... be friends.  No matter what that means."

Nodding, Ryou took a deep breath.  "Okay.  I can try that."

What was Keith to him, without holding anything back?

A friend.  His closest at the Garrison, though even then there'd be barriers.  His savior, through Shiro's memories but especially through his own.  The one who swore to always bring him back, but that had been for another person, not for Ryou.  Someone with leadership potential, like Shiro, but who Ryou was only now really seeing how different his priorities were.  It took a literal outside perspective to see that Keith was happy to be part of Shiro's team, not held back.

Keith was the face Ryou saw at the end of his nightmares last night.  The one who meant the suffering was over, that he was home.

So much had changed since then, but that emotion, that memory, was still there.

"Good," Keith finally replied.  "Now, in the name of friendship, will you tell me what you want that rope for?"

Ryou glanced down at his hip, where the role of bright yellow rope was still curled in a loop like a cowboy lasso at his belt.  "Oh!  Right, I forgot about that.  Hold onto me for a minute?"

"Alright."  Keith tucked in closer, now just holding on like Ryou was a convenient poll.

Wrapping his arm around Keith's shoulders, Ryou made sure he was tucked in tight.  Then he used his left hand to unclip the rope, holding onto just one end.

Then, Ryou activated just one side of his jet pack.

They shot up, and almost immediately they started to spin in place.  There wasn't a lot of force, but Keith still grabbed on tight, gloved fingers clinging to the juts of Ryou's armor.  "What are you doing?"

"Just give it a second more- there!"  Ryou gave another jet, this time from the other side.  It stopped the spin and equalized some of their momentum, until it felt like they were just floating again.

But now the yellow rope swirled around them in a spiral, like a corkscrew.  It matched their momentum precisely, so it appeared perfectly frozen around them.  A gorgeous, bright yellow spiral swirling from their feet.

Keith glanced down, arching his head to see around Ryou.  "Oh.  You wanted to do the skywalk version of  _ ribbon dancing?" _

"That wasn't the way I was going to word it, but- uh, yeah.  That's about it."

Pressing his forehead to Ryou's shoulder, Keith barked out a laugh.  "I don't even know why I'm surprised.  That's so  _ you." _

Ryou's chest warmed, like it was full of hot foam.  "I live to meet your expectations," he drawled, just to hear Keith laugh harder.  "Now, I bet if we're careful, we can draw shapes with the rope.  You're the artist, want to do it?"

The snickering cut off, and Keith glanced at him.  "Actually, I can't."

"You can't draw?  Because I'm pretty sure I could prove that wrong in five minutes in your room."

Keith kicked him on the thigh, though Ryou barely felt it through the armor.  "Don't go through my stuff.  And I mean I can't draw out here."  He paused, then looked away.  "The jets on the Marmora uniform have one good use in them, and then they disengage.  They're replaceable, but they're more for getting in undetected than anything.  I used it to get to you, so I'm kind of stuck here."

Ryou stared back.  "You used all of your jets to get to me?"

"You weren't responding!"

"Why do those stupid uniforms only have one use jets?"

Keith tightened his grip on Ryou.  "For more stealth technology, so we don't get blasted out of the black before we get to the base, maybe."

Considering that, Ryou finally shook his head.  "Nope.  Still stupid.  And then stupid of you to use it now.  What if you needed to get back to Yellow?"

"I was worried about you!  Jeez."  Keith knocked his helmet into Ryou's, making them  _ clack _ loudly, a dull sound from inside.  "As many times as it takes.  I told you that."

Ryou froze.  "You meant that for Shiro."

Shrugging, Keith sighed.  "It's for both of you.  Everyone.  The whole team.  I'm not losing more people.  That includes to you blacking out in space, alright?"

"I got it."  Ryou smiled, and he could hear his voice softening.  Keith must have heard it too, because his head turned away.  "And Keith?  Thanks.  I agree.  No more losing people.  Family, right?"

"Right."

Ryou gave Keith a minute, still smiling at him like a soppy idiot.  But Ryou’s helmet was engaged and Keith wouldn't be able to see, so that was fine.  "Alright, climb aboard.  You tell me what to draw, and I'll try and recreate it."

There was a loud snort.  "Oh, this is going to end well."  Keith obligingly wrapped around Ryou's side, carefully out of the way of his jet pack.  "Want to start with a lion?"

"Let's do Yellow.  He'll enjoy being our model, won't you, Big Guy?"

The gently floating form didn't move, except the head rotating to follow them.  But Ryou heard another of those rumbles at the base of his neck.

Keith nodded.  "Alright, let's start with the shape of the head, then."

It took them about 15 minutes of work to realize they didn't have enough rope to make the design they wanted.  So instead, Ryou handed the rope back to Keith, and just jetted around on his command, letting him do the 'drawing'.  Slowly, they made a design in front of them that somewhat resembled a simplified version of the Yellow Lion, though the spacing between lines was rapidly increasing as it floated apart.

"So, it's Yellow if his head was a balloon," Ryou declared.  "A dramatic statement on excess and capitalism in a self-built society.  We need a room in the castle for modern art."

"Don't be a jackass."  Keith shot back, but there was a smile in his voice.  "You want to try and do better?"

"Yes."

Keith snorted.  "I take it back, I don't want to go blind."

Spinning in place to playfully try and toss him, Ryou rolled his eyes.  "Wrong Shirogane, you've never seen me draw.  So there."

"Hey!"  Keith let go of the rope, but it was too late to keep from ruining the drawing.  The momentum of Ryou's unintentional tug rippled through the image, completely pulling the lines apart.

"Oh, shoot."  Ryou reached out and grabbed the rope before they could lose track of it.  "Sorry."

Keith sighed.  "It's alright, just-"

Before he could finish, there was a click over the comms.  "There you two are," Shiro called, sounding relieved.  "What the hell are you doing out there?  It's almost breakfast time."

Oh, shit, was it?  Ryou checked the clock in his helmet display, and it was indeed nearly 07:30 castle time.  Whoops.  

"Ribbon dancing," Keith drawled, a laugh barely suppressed in his voice.

Ryou grinned and nodded.  "Making statements on the  _ system, _ man."

There was a long pause.  "You know what, I don't think I want to know.  Are you ready to come in?"

Keith's grip on Ryou tightened, and he tilted his head in question.

Ryou looked back over, where the castle still hung, pale and glowing.  He reached out and clasped his hand over the spot.  The lack of contact, the lack of ability to touch, the  _ distance _ still scared him.

But Keith had said 'as many times as it takes'.  If he was left behind, they'd come for him.   Black would find him, or more likely Yellow.

There was an answering pressure, and a purr that seemed to echo in his head.  Of course Yellow would come for him, not Black.  Whose paladin was he?

Ryou smiled and dropped his hand.  "Yeah. I'm ready."

"Good," Shiro replied.  "Come on inside.  If you miss breakfast, you get goo."

"Horror," Ryou drawled back.  "Such a punishment for the guy who can't taste."

"You'll have to deal with Hunk's hurt face."

Ryou paused, then frowned.  "Good point.  Okay, yeah, heading in.  Hold on, Keith."

Once Keith's grip tightened again, Ryou turned and headed back to Yellow.  Immediately, the great jaws opened to allow them entrance.

It was time to go home.


End file.
